Northern Ireland Opera has announced the cast and creative team for its production of Bizet’s “Carmen.”

This will mark the company’s first staging of the work. The production, directed by Cameron Menzies, runs Sept. 12 – 19, 2026. Greg Arrowsmith conducts.

Tenor Noah Stewart takes on Don José. He is joined by Ruby Dibble in her role debut as Carmen. Soprano Mary McCabe sings Micaela, with mezzo soprano Jenny Bourke as Mercedes and soprano Petra Wells as Frasquita. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

“Great opera should move, challenge, and delight audiences in equal measure, and few works achieve that balance more successfully than ‘Carmen.’ I have wanted to direct ‘Carmen’ for many years, but I have always felt that it is a piece that demands the right moment,” said Menzies, per an official press release. “For Northern Ireland Opera, that moment is now. It is a work packed with extraordinary music, complex characters, and some of the most thrilling chorus writing in the repertoire. Over the last five years, we have been quietly building our exceptional chorus towards this challenge. However, this production is also an urgent opportunity to look at this tragic story through a modern lens, using our stage to confront the historic trope of the tragic heroine and address the vital, real-world conversations surrounding gender-based safety today.”

Ahead of the run, the company will host a panel discussion, “Behind the Curtain,” on August 20, featuring live musical excerpts from “Carmen” and a discussion on violence against women and girls in connection with the opera’s themes.

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